A Palestinian farmer in Yatta, West Bank, can put years of struggling to pay the water bills for irrigating his olive trees behind him. Thanks to a new cistern he can now save the winter rains and water his trees in summer.
(Text By: Khalil Zaquot)
Mohammed Ejbor, aged 75, inherited 25,000 square meters of land from his grandparents. 5,000 square meters are planted with olive trees.
Irrigating his trees proved problematic. Each cubic metre of water costs USD 10 to reach the land and each tree requires at least 150 litres of water each month. Drilling a well cost around USD 10,000, an amount Ejbor could not afford.
He has faced additional problems such as settlers uprooting many of his trees in 2008 and 2009. His land is located in Area C, which is controlled by the Israeli military. In June 2010, they destroyed his land and uprooted all the saplings he had received from the Union of Agriculture Work Committees (UAWC), a partner organisation of Norwegian People’s Aid.
“My sons live in the USA, and they asked me many times to go there and live with them, but I don’t want to go, I will not leave my land,” Ejbor said. He didn’t give up; he planted new saplings again and asked UAWC to support him in drilling a water well to irrigate his trees and saplings.
The following month, UAWC contributed 75% of the cost of drilling a well. Ejbor and his family covered the remaining 25% in addition to helping in building of the well.
“We worked on the well from Thursday nights until Saturday nights because my land is located in area C, and there is no way to get a permit to drill a well. If the Israeli military noticed what we were doing, they would demolish the well,” Ejbor said.
During winter 2011, the well collected the rain water. Ejbor is now ready for the hot summer season. He no longer has to buy water for his trees. The well will also serve the other farmers of the land around, and the livestock.